"Beam, 66, was fatally shot on Nov. 13 at Laney College in Oakland, where he worked as the athletic director and formerly served as the football coach. He died the following day at Highland Hospital. Beam was a deeply respected figure in the Bay Area and beyond as he supported thousands of youth. He was also featured on the Netflix show "Last Chance U," highlighting his mentorship among athletes at Laney College."
"Ian Hetzner, a librarian who spearheaded the project, told SFGATE that the library staff knew honoring Beam was essential. "This one was like, we have to do something. And even I, who wasn't familiar with Coach Beam, as soon as all the news started coming out, I was like, 'Damn, this is an Oakland legend,'" Hetzner said. The idea came from Jamie Turbak, the library director, he said, and was eventually taken on by Hetzner's department in magazines and newspapers."
The Oakland Public Library created a tribute display and an interactive community memory book to honor coach John Beam. Beam, 66, was fatally shot on Nov. 13 at Laney College where he served as athletic director and formerly coached football; he died the following day. Beam mentored thousands of youth and appeared on Netflix's Last Chance U. The library's display includes Oakland Tribune clippings documenting Beam's move from Skyline High to Laney and a 2002 coach-of-the-year feature. The memory book contains more than a dozen handwritten pages and will be delivered to Beam's family. Librarian Ian Hetzner led archival research for the project.
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